135 – Lady Saint, You’re So Vulgar (1)

He’d gone and done it.

Too busy playing with fire to properly stand night watch. If another soldier, especially Adora, found out, he’d be in more trouble than just a scolding.

“Hoo…”

He sighed, hoisting Rachel higher on his back. The sensation of her pressed against his back was distinct. The warmth of the woman he’d held just moments ago still lingered.

“Erich.”

“What?”

“Sorry.”

“Starting to come to your senses now, are you?”

“Yeah.”

Rachel buried her face in his back. He could feel the shame emanating from her shallow breaths.

“What’s done is done. Just don’t catch a cold.”

“Cough.”

“Ah, please, no.”

He stamped out the evidence of their encounter with his boots and turned to leave.

It was then, as he passed a large boulder, that…

“Huh?”

Something caught his eye.

“…What’s this?”

At the base of the boulder, in the sand, was a suspiciously wet patch. Rounded, and slightly concave.

“What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

Strange. It certainly hadn’t rained, and the tide wouldn’t have reached this far.

Another man might have dismissed it, but not him.

His job was collecting rocks, after all, so he was used to watching the ground. He was sensitive to minor discrepancies like this.

Besides, hadn’t I gotten myself into something today? A nagging thought had me inspecting the damp patch closely.

A few strands, like threads, lay there.

Long, and a white verging on silver.

“This is…”

Not Salbira’s spider silk. I felt no magic. Instead, I sensed a faint level of Sephiron.

It didn’t take long to figure out what it was.

“Ah.”

“Erich?”

A cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Back at the base, the female soldiers were still asleep.

[‘Where on earth have you been?’]

[‘Did you do it? Did you?!’]

David and the other rocks were quick to notice us, launching a barrage of questions. I brushed them off with a click of my tongue.

“Yeah, well.”

[‘Ah.’]

[‘Damn it all.’]

[‘Oh my, oh my oh my, oh my oh my oh my!’]

[‘Holy moly.’]

Daisy and Olivia cheered, while David and Kalon clicked their tongues. David, in particular, let out a drawn-out sigh in his own special way.

[‘Oh, oh oh, oh oh oh oh.’]

“What now? What’s the problem this time?”

[‘We know something you don’t, Senior. But we’ve decided not to say. It’s your path to choose, so you’ll have to deal with the consequences.’]

“Hey.”

I had a pretty good idea what this ‘something you don’t’ was. With the rocks all giving me knowing looks, I couldn’t possibly miss it.

Nothing for it now.

“Just rest for a bit.”

I laid Rachel down on the bed and took off my clothes to cover her. Rachel, my coat pulled right up to her eyes, stared at me with a blank look.

“Close your eyes.”

“Okay.”

Rachel burrowed completely under my clothes.

* * *

A deep inhale, then a slow exhale.

What was she doing with my clothes?

I turned my head.

The sun had crested the horizon, only half-risen. The first night, which had felt eternal, was over, and a new day was struggling to be born.

Sleepy, but I couldn’t drift off yet.

I was adding more wood to the dying embers, planning to prepare a meal, when I heard a soft sound.

“Mmm…”

Tiria stirred, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Are you awake?”

“Good morning, Erich.”

“Yes, good morning.”

“Did you work hard all night?”

“…Yes, well.”

“I see, I see.”

An awkward silence descended.

“You must be tired, go back to sleep. I’ll take care of the cooking.”

“No, I can manage it myself.”

“Nonsense. I’m wide awake now.”

“But you can barely open your eyes?”

“Just a moment.”

Tiria took a deep breath. Slowly, she opened her eyes. A soft, peach-fuzz pink, like a ripened fruit, was revealed, then quickly faded to a dull black.

“Want to make breakfast together?”

At Tiria’s offer, I nodded.

While Tiria trimmed the wild greens, I wrapped the leftover fish from yesterday in broad leaves and set them over the fire.

“Um, I’m thirsty, could you hand me my water skin?”

“Ah, my, the water skin?”

This time, Tiria’s eyes had turned a strange shade of orange, for some reason.

“…Yes, here you go.”

“Thank you. Huh?”

The water skin felt lighter than it should.

I opened it to find not a single drop of water.

That wasn’t the only oddity. A citrus-tinged, slightly musty scent wafted from the lid.

“Nothing left?”

“No, I guess someone drank it all in their sleep.”

“Here. Drink mine. You can finish it, if you like.”

I quenched my thirst a little from Tiria’s canteen. Hers, too, carried that same orangey scent.

Wait a moment, could it be…

“Erich, I saw you… doing it.”

“Pfft—!!”

*

“Cough, cough!”

The price for spending the entire night naked under the sea breeze, entangled in love, was steep. Both Rachel and I were laid low with a simultaneous cold.

It took another week for us to fully recover. Luckily, Tiria had her divine power to help. The herbal tea Salbira brewed was also a great comfort.

While I was groaning with sickness, Tiria didn’t say a single word about… that. I’m sure it was consideration for my condition as a patient, but that only made me feel more uneasy.

I almost wished she’d just gotten angry.

Anyway, my battle with the cold was finally over, as of today.

“How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I think I can move around now.”

Not only Tiria but also Adora and the fox sisters took care of us. After thanking everyone, I got to work on what I had been putting off.

Our goal, currently, was just one thing.

To build a large longboat that wouldn’t capsize, no matter what.

A simple raft wouldn’t do. Because multiple people would be aboard, we needed to construct a boat capable of carrying a good ten people, give or take.

And so, for the first time in my life, I was shipbuilding.

“Hehe, let’s build it~ let’s build it!”

Riyo wagged her tail, cutting wood. She started by building a small-scale model based on a miniature blueprint. The purpose was to test the efficacy of the engineered structure, to see if it worked properly.

“Alright, looks like there are no problems!”

“Can we go with that thing?”

“Yup! Probably! Now, we need to make it bi~g! Big enough for us and our little ones to ride in!”

With that, Riyo approached me and sniffed, her nose twitching.

“Hmm.”

“Why?”

“There’s a smell, a smell.”

“What kind of smell?”

“A truly foul one.”

“Sweat, probably.”

“Perhaps?”

Riyo retreated, a significant smile playing on her lips. Or was it Miyo? That slightly aloof air felt more like the elder sister.

No matter. This wasn’t the time to get caught up in such trifles.

“We need more wood and stones, so go and fetch them. And bring back plenty to eat while you’re at it!”

The groups were assigned according to Riyo’s request: Tiria and I in one, Rachel and Adora in the other. And so we departed.

The ostensible goal, as always, was to gather food and materials for building the boat.

But this was the perfect chance to speak with Tiria alone.

We strolled through the thicket, making small talk for a good hour.

“Ahem.”

“Ehem.”

Clearing our throats, we cautiously began.

“Excuse me, Herr Karsten…”

“Um, Erich…”

“Ah.”

“Oh.”

“…You, please, speak first.”

“No, you go ahead.”

Tiria twitched her elven ears, avoiding my gaze.

“It’s just… about what happened with Rachel back then.”

“…Yes.”

“I am truly sorry. But I had no choice.”

Even to my own ears, it wasn’t a very satisfactory apology. But it was better than nothing, I figured, so I offered the closest thing to an explanation I could muster.

“I know.”

Tiria, having heard me out, surprisingly nodded with ease.

“I know about the relationship between you and the Major. The tragedy of pointing guns at each other should not be repeated. But as long as the war continues, it’s practically impossible for soldiers like us to completely disregard our superiors.”

Tiria lifted her head. Her gaze was complex. The hint of blue, signifying sadness, wasn’t just my imagination, I wagered.

“Erich, I saw everything. What you and Rachel talked about that day, the joining of flesh, from beginning to end… I saw it all.”

The confession began.

The Saintess of the Holy Order, giving a paradoxical confession to a mage.

“I knew what you were about to do. I couldn’t step in and tell you to stop, like I usually would. I was a little jealous, but I held it back. Because, to me, you, and that girl, are both precious…”

On that deserted island, the female soldiers hadn’t just fallen in love with me.

If affection could bloom between men and women, then comradeship, born from sharing life and death, was bound to grow between those of the same s*x.

It was surely something that couldn’t be explained with just the word “camaraderie.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt you two then. Yes, so I stupidly hid behind and watched. Imagining your canteen was your… thing, and filthily pleasuring myself alone.”

A-ha-ha.

Tiria laughed emptily. The light was fading from her eyes.

“I’m pathetic, aren’t I? Making this kind of senseless noise as a confession.”

Hearing those words, I put down the basket and embraced her. Allowing her to bury herself in my arms, I stroked her hair.

“Yes, you’re pathetic.”

“…Erich?”

My gaze went straight to Tiria. And then, I slowly covered her lips with my own. Tiria’s eyes widened.

“I like you for being so pathetically honest, Ms. Carsten.”

“E, Erich?”

“I can’t tell you how anxious I’ve been, since you haven’t said anything. I wondered so many times if you were disappointed in me, you know?”

“It’s not that. I was just afraid that if I told you the truth, you’d despise me…”

“I thought so too.”

“Why would you? The talk is… over, isn’t it? That you’ll embrace all of us…”

Tiria’s orange eyes were gradually turning yellow.

“As time passed, I sorted out my thoughts. Rachel needs you. Other women will too, I suppose. And so do I. I like you. Even if you seem like a philanderer, what can I do? I’ve grown to like you so much?”

“Carsten?”

“Call me by my name, Erich.”

“…Tiria.”

“There’s no need to use honorifics just because I’m a Saintess. I’m your woman alone.”

The atmosphere was markedly different than before. I realized it around then.

Tiria, after seeing Rachel and me share our love, was trying to make a huge decision of her own.

“I love you, Tiria.”

“I love you too, Erich.”

Our lips met once more. She chuckled, a soft sound.

“It’s the first time you’ve initiated a kiss.”

“So it is.”

“Did you seduce Rachel first as well?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

“So, it means I’m the first you’ve actively pursued. Isn’t that…some kind of honor?”

“…So it is.”

“Erich.”

Tiria grasped my arm with a trembling hand.

“I have a favor to ask, Erich. Will you grant it?”

“Anything.”

“That… that thing you did for Rachel that day… could you do it for me too?”

At those words, I lifted the hand that was being held, bringing it to Tiria’s cherry-like lips. She strained to pout, artificially creating the mood, her eyes filled with pleading as she asked,

“…Huh?”

I chuckled softly, replying.

“Saintess, how vulgar.”

Tiria’s pupils deepened to a dark rose hue.